Teen Titans: One Long Day
by Cyrex
Summary: [AU, oneshot, set after Birthright] Rith is known for being a selfsacrificing friend, but everyone has long days. A modest little idea, I hope you find it entertaining.


12

Note: this is a one-shot AU fan-fic, set after Birthright. It's nothing much, just a fun little idea I had, but I hope it's entertaining. The story is quite Rith-centric (the OC from Brithright), but all of the main Titans are in it.

One Long Day

It had been a long year. Though Terra and Rith had helped the original Titans, Titans East, and all of their new friends defeat the Brotherhood of Evil, it was not an adventure any of them would like to repeat. But it had made them many new friends, the world over, and that was as worthwhile as anything in this world could be. Terra had become well-disciplined with her powers since Raven and Beast Boy had brought her back from stone. Her being separated from the other during the Brain's final assault had given Beast Boy an extra edge to his drive to take the Brotherhood on so brazenly.

It had been just a few weeks since the Brain's defeat, and though the large group of their new allies had stayed for a short time, the Tower was, practically, back to normal. Thanks to dealing with so many of the underworld's top leaders, trouble in the Titans' city had dwindled back to petty theft, traffic accidents, and other such small problems. Beast Boy and Terra had taken the time to go out on a few dates together, and even Beast Boy had gotten used to the idea of them being a 'couple' beyond simple jokes to get him to blush from Cyborg or Robin. Really, Beast Boy thought of her as his best friend, but the occasional kiss on the cheek put him so high in the clouds he found it worked anyway.

Raven and Rith were known to be a 'pair', but beyond meditating together, or sharing a fondness for each other's company, they were quite subtle in their mutual regard after their first date over a year ago. Everyone on the team was happy for them, especially since Raven had a calm cheerfulness about her these days that made it clear she had worked through a great deal of her troubles.

Things had been so calm since the defeat of Brain that when the trouble alert flared through the tower in the early morning, none of the Titans were awake as fast as they would have been during the global crisis. Rith's eyebrows snapped up as the sharp alarm agitated his meditating powers, and quickly got out of bed, his pale cloak and baggy brown clothes rippling as he grabbed his wooden staff, rushing for the command center.

He briskly moved through the doors to the tower's living room a few moments later, Robin dashing over to the console at the far side, just under the large window overlooking the city. Raven and Starfire were already floating above the center when Rith got there, Cyborg and Beast Boy running up through the door behind him, with Terra crying out for them to wait, hopping along as she tugged a shoe onto her left foot.

"What's the deal, Robin?" Cyborg called seriously as they all moved down into the TV area.

Robin's gloved fingers flew over the keys, and brought up a live news feed on the window-screen that functioned as their computer, TV, and scanner view. It showed heavily armored figures, almost robotic in appearance, shooting from the cover of an overturned armored truck, money littering the street, with riot-gear police trying to fend them off.

Even Raven's eyes flared a bit. "Whoa…"

Terra gawked. "Good grief, where did _those_ things come from?"

Rith's brow creased. "What do you see?"

Raven landed beside him, and whispered quickly to him as the others looked to Robin. The boy wonder snapped one fist into the other palm. "Experimental weapons tech, but we can look into that later. We've got thieves to stop. Titans, GO!"

In a flurry, all seven of them rushed out of the control center. Starfire swept down, picking Robin up, while Cyborg took Terra and Beast Boy in the T-Car, and Raven and Rith flew out, flanking their alien friend. They were closing on the city…

(Out in the City…)

Too early for the sun, right, smack in the middle of a city-block, the truck was slammed on its left side, the undercarriage toward the closest buildings and the police down on one end of the street. Eight, visible criminals were shooting around or over the ruined truck, forcing the police further back with each tick of the clock. They all seemed to be men, but were each covered in full-body armor, which was both bulky and large enough to hide any detail of the wearer from outside view. The helmets were the most detailed parts, with red optic-goggles, and wolfish mouth-filters under angular, sharp plating over and down the back of the heads. Six of them were firing rifle-length laser-blasters, the other two using arm-mounted cannons that pulsed back on hydraulic links to the forearms with each powerful blast.

…And then energy rained from the sky. Green bolts, black streams, and rippling distortions slammed down into the truck and several of the armored men. Some of them cried out, being knocked to the street, but the rest aimed up and opened fire on Starfire, Rith, and Raven. The three scattered through the air, and Starfire threw Robin horizontally. The leader coiled madly, wrenching his staff out with one hand and his grapple-shot with the other.

The bird-formed hook shot off, slammed into a high building face, and Robin swung down, cape and hair lashing backward. The thieves took aim, but he rammed both boots into the chest of one on top of the truck, taking him clean off. As the rest tried to turn and aim, a beam of blue-white light, chunks of sharp rock, and a massive green blur slammed into the rest. Most of the men were sent flying, a great gorilla slammed into the street on the far side of the truck with one under its feet, but one still stood on the back end of the truck as Cyborg and Terra stood in front of the police. The blonde girl's fists were glowing, held forward, her face grimly determined, and her half-robotic friend had his cannon charged and ready, a similar set to his expression.

The, seemingly, last member of the gang held his rifle calmly where he stood. Robin landed beside Beast Boy, who finally reverted, and Raven and Starfire flew down to hover above them, Rith landing to his haunches behind them. The thief started to chuckle, his filtered voice sounding across the street. "I was wondering how long it take you Titans to show up. Been getting sloppy?"

Terra jerked her hands and took on a combat stance, streams of rock flowing out of the street and hovering around her. "I use mud, if that's what you mean." She narrowed her eyes as they flashed with power.

Beast Boy flushed. "She's so cool!"

His nearby friends gave him a wary glance even in the tense moment, but they all focused back on the task at hand shortly.

"Stand down and surrender before this gets worse," Robin called out in a clear voice.

His back to Robin, the remaining thief tilted his head down, chuckling. "It already is worse, kid…" And he abruptly tossed his rifle out to the side, his other hand slamming into a panel on his chest.

Rith and Terra gawked. "The street!"

Everyone braced, and the asphalt fractured beneath the truck, suddenly splintering and snapping into the air. The thief leapt with unnatural power, nearly flying straight up, and the truck flew into the building face nearest its nose… as a robotic behemoth pulled itself out of the road, obviously built by the same designer as the body-suits for the thieves.

The machine hefted four legs onto the street outside of its hole, and rose up with ominous strength, a humanoid torso, twin-barrel turret for a head, and massive arms locking into place as the thief landed on its shoulder. "Thought you kids might like a real toy!"

With speed possibly only for a machine, the robot locked its open claws toward Cyborg and Terra, the huge cannons of the head snapping down at Robin and company. Energy crackled off the huge talons of the claws, and the cannons gave resounding booms, loading.

Panic pulsed through the Titans like the sounds of the machine itself, Cyborg bracing back as Terra flared her powers, yanking a wall of cement and sludge up in front of them with violent speed, wind thrashing her hair back. Raven snapped her hands out, white power bleeding out of her eyes as shadow blasted off her hands, forging a dome-shield in a rippling rush for their end of the street.

The machine fired. Massive, explosive shells discharged at near point-blank range, and the claws unleashed a unified beam of violent electronic energy. Terra gasped as her wall blew apart… raining down around her, Cyborg, and the police, but the blast had stopped as fast, much to her relief. Raven groaned as the air shuddered from the blast of the cannons, but she was able to relax the field before losing too much strength.

Laughing, the thief made his contraption stand taller, aiming one claw to either side, already crackling with power. This time, however, before anyone could really act otherwise, Rith shot between Robin and Beast Boy, flipped through the air, and slammed down onto the machine's head. The thief tried to swipe at him, but Rith just rammed him off with a sweep of his staff, and then planted one hand on the machine's head. His entire body shivered with intense focus, a grimace flashing on his face.

"Rith, be careful!" Raven called out.

And then they realized what he was doing. The boy screamed, rising up… but made no sound. As fast as his initial charge, the entire machine started to shiver violently, then crackle with energy. For just a moment, they heard the jarring sounds of shearing metal, but these sounds also joined the power being forced into the body itself.

In a scattered rush, joints, plating, welding, bolts, and wires started breaking, popping, and exploding. The machine became a standing wreck… and then crumpled to pieces in its own hole, Rith riding the head down into the crater, the sound returning with a powerful rumble and rush across the street.

Robin lowered his staff slowly. "…That works, too."

Raven floated more anxiously, her eyes tightened.

To her relief, Rith climbed out of the settling dust, and onto the street toward Robin and Beast Boy, leaning on his own knees for a moment once on solid ground. Starfire floated down, but she and the others let Raven hurry to the blind boy first. "You alright?"

Rith nodded. "Sorry about that… Saw an option, and didn't want to risk anyone's defense faltering under another attack like that. Everybody okay?" he asked, leaning back upright, obviously a bit short of breath.

Terra and Cyborg finally came over.

"Yeah, we're all pretty good. Good job, Rith," Cyborg offered lightly, glancing into the crater with a mild cringe.

Terra was blushing lightly, scratching the back of her head. "You really took that thing apart…"

Rith half-smiled. "Like I said, I just saw an option." He looked to Robin more seriously. "Sorry…"

The boy wonder chuckled, shaking his head. "You knew what you were doing. I was gonna have Raven break the cannons on the head and work with Cy to deal with the arms, but you got in there and did the job. You sure you're okay though?"

A light nod answered first. "Just a bit strained. I'll probably meditate in a bit. Or are we all just going to back to bed?"

It let the mood lighten as the police came over to arrest the thieves and start organizing the recovery crews. Cyborg checked his arm. "I get up in an hour anyway, I think I'll just stay awake."

Terra nodded. "I'm way too wired after that fight."

Rith smiled. "I'll make some breakfast." He raised a hand before Beast Boy even spoke. "With a special tofu dish on the side."

The green Titan grinned, and then blushed when Terra gave him a playful squeeze for his silly habits.

Robin twirled his staff back into his belt. "Titans, let's go home."

(Back at the Tower…)

Virtually the moment the Titans returned to the tower, Raven informed them she was going to meditate. The fight had startled and strained her, so she was somewhat concerned about losing proper control of her abilities. Robin watched Rith faintly as Raven left to do so, curious to see if the blind Titan would be disappointed, but his smile never faded as he wished Raven a pleasant meditation, and hurried to the kitchen to make the promised breakfast for everyone.

And the breakfast itself was up to Rith's usual tastiness. Everyone had their fill, even Beast Boy with his tofu patties in dipping sauce, a special treat he and Rith had developed together. Terra giggled as he salivated and then dove onto the plate like a rabid dog (actually changing into one before catching himself).

The Titans began to split up to their daily activities after breakfast was done, and Rith started to clean up. He was moving a little more slowly than usual, and as the others were moving out, he took the chance to rub one temple while washing a plate. _I over-did it on that robot… I should probably try to get some sleep._

"Rith?"

The blind boy paused, a bit surprised with his focus elsewhere, and turned his head to show Starfire he had heard her. "Yes, Starfire?"

The alien girl smiled happily, her manner ever-charming and cheerful as she floated a few inches off the ground to his right and behind him while he worked at the sink. "First, I wished to thank you once more for your kindly prepared breakfast. It was most delicious!"

He smiled gently, nodding to her, turning his face back to the dishes, but she knew he was still listening.

Starfire held her hands down to one side together, a little hesitant before speaking again. "And, if you are agreeable to the idea, I would greatly appreciate some assistance in practicing with my star-bolts later, perhaps?"

Privately, facing away from her, Rith cringed a little. He was quite tired, and the beginnings of a headache were gnawing at him. However, Starfire was such a kind soul, and her voice was so sweetly hopeful he felt guilty for wanting to turn her down. With a mild sigh, hopefully quiet enough to avoid her detection, he forced a brighter smile, and looked back over his shoulder to let her see it, nodding. "Sure, just let me finish up here, please?"

She lit up, floating up and down rapidly, raising her clasped hands. "Oh! Thank you so much! You are a very kind friend! I will go to the training facility!" And she zipped out of the living room like one of her star-bolts.

Rith wiped down the last plate, letting his shoulders slump. "Just help her out for a little while, and then go rest. That will work." He nodded to himself, and moved out of the kitchen, making his way to the training room with staff in-hand.

(Later…)

Starfire swirled up through the air, arced tightly, and flared jade, crystalline energy in her eyes and around her fists, grimacing with exertion. Building a shout, she unleashed energy from all four points into a large, fused beam, which shot down through the air of the large training chamber. Rith was on the ground in its way, and he quickly snapped his hands out, legs spread, staff in his right hand, causing the beam to burst against a dome of distortion as he grimaced himself.

The alien Titan released her attack, the light fading from her eyes and fists, smiling with a light shortness of breath moving her frame as she sank toward the ground. Rith, likewise, eased upright, and gripped his staff more securely while pressing one end to the ground. He was actually hiding how much he was leaning on its support.

"Thank you again, Rith. I very much wanted to test some of my new techniques on a worthy adversary. You, of course, did just that!"

Chuckling gently, Rith tipped his head to her. "I'm glad I could help. Have a nice day, Starfire. I'm going to go rest a bit."

Before she said anything, the alien girl flew over and grappled him in a warm hug. "You are very kind, Rith!"

He laughed gently, patting her shoulder. "Like I said, glad to help."

With a cheerful wave and giggle, Starfire flitted off to her own activities. Rith, on the other hand, bowed his head, and breathed for a few moments.

"Oh, Rith, I was just looking for you."

He rose up, turning to face Robin as the boy-wonder walked in through the same doorway Starfire had just left through. The leader of the team actually had his progressive staff out in his hand already.

A bit puzzled, Rith asked, "What can I do for you, Robin?"

Smiling brightly, which Rith knew meant that the caped young man felt he had found a solution to some problem, Robin spun his staff in his hand, and answered, "I've finally gotten some of the techniques the Master taught down more reliably. Old lady's a tough teacher, but it's worth it." He kicked the staff up into both hands. "I wanted to see how you reacted to them before I share." He smirked in good humor.

The blind Titan chuckled, sharing the humor. It was one of the few topics where he and Robin had a true understanding of each other: combat technique, and the respect for weapon skill. Whenever training came up, they were on the same page. Of course, at that moment, Rith was badly worn down after the morning's battle, and practicing with Starfire. Hesitating for a moment, he finally said, "I may not be at my top performance, but I'll see if I can't give you a hard time." And he pulled his own staff out, falling into a combat-stance.

Robin grinned, braced, and leapt for his first strike. Rith shifted his feet, and leapt to meet him.

(Later…)

A short time later, Rith was making his way to his room at long last. Idly, he nursed a sore spot on his back where one of Robin's new techniques had planted him on the floor. He was also actually using his staff as a walking stick at this point, his face a little drawn.

By the frantic foot-falls and bated breath, he was made aware of Terra's presence quite early, and looked up, strengthening his expression to avoid making the obviously rushing girl uncomfortable if she ran into him.

And she almost did. Her bright hair flying forward, she skidded to a halt right in front of Rith, who raised his eyebrows up, pouting in mild confusion. "Goodness, Terra. Are you alright?"

She flushed, her goggles dangling around her neck, and grinned at him. "I'm awesome! I'm so glad I ran into you!" She was talking rapidly, clearly sincere in her excitement. Indeed, she was practically glowing. "I think I've just mastered a new trick with my powers! But everyone I've run into so far is super-busy, so I can't practice it in a fight yet." She clasped her hands together, leaning at him. "Could you? Pretty please!? I swear I just need a few minutes. If I can get it off while you're attacking, I'll be totally set!"

Privately, Rith was truly dismal at the idea of yet another sparring match, but the poor girl was so excited and hopeful in front of him, he felt like he was kicking a puppy if he refused her. This time, however, he was seriously worn out, and wasn't even sure if he _could_ help her. "W-well… Terra, I'm afraid I'm a little…"

Her expression softened sadly, realizing he was building up to a polite 'no'. She was almost saying 'oh' herself when he stopped talking, closing his mouth for a moment. She blinked at him.

Rith smiled. "Let's go outside then, but I'm afraid I can't give you more than a few good tries. I need to… take care of some business today."

She lit up like a star. "Awesome! Thank you so much! You're the best, Rith! I can make my Automaton shoot energy! Like I do myself! Come on, come on!" She grabbed his hand, and started dashing off with him.

Though startled, Rith actually didn't fight her too much on yanking him along, it took less energy that way.

"I'd've nabbed Beast Boy, of course, but he's apparently really busy with something in his room. Poor boy was all flustered when I asked him…" Terra continued talking a mile a minute as Rith just mildly smiled, following her (and being dragged).

(Later…)

And Terra was successful. It took her a few minutes to dodge Rith enough, but she finally brought her automaton out of the ground, and it unleashed a beam of raw earth-force, as if from her own fists. Rith, of course, barely dodged it, and was straining to hide the fact that he was on the verge of falling over panting at the finish to avoid making her feel bad about bringing him out. She hugged him tightly, thanking him dozens of times, and then zipped inside happily, very pleased with her new discipline.

Rith made his way into the tower, and smiled a little when he saw his own door. It was followed by a slow wince as he rubbed his forehead, the hand with his staff trailing three fingers along the wall for a little extra support as he nursed his aching head. The ambient noises of the tower were starting to grate on him at this point, and the idea of just lying down in his bed was sounding more and more like heaven on earth.

The idea of heaven on earth made a flash of Raven smiling at him fill his mind, and it let him smile physically himself. Her lovely face could always make him smile.

He sensed Cyborg moving into the hall behind him, but didn't think anything of it until the half-metal Titan came running up to him.

"Yo, Rith, got a second?"

Rith winced at his instinctive desire to say 'no', and then made a smile, turning toward his friend. "What is it, Cyborg?"

Cyborg grinned. "I finally finished that sonic-disruptor I was telling you about the other day. I was just gonna fire it up for a test-run, and I realized you could give me some really great tips on tweaking it to perfection!" He gave a big thumbs-up as he finished.

Rith actually had his mouth open to say he couldn't help, but actually pulled his teeth back together with a wince he turned into a big smile. Cyborg blinked at the odd gestures, and Rith quickly covered with, "Of course! Down in your workshop?"

The half-metal Titan grinned again. "You got it. Thanks a million, Rith. Just a quick test, don't worry. Not tryin' to take over your whole day."

The blind young man couldn't help a dry chuckle. "No, no, not the whole day…"

So they made it all the way down to the workshop. Cyborg did notice that his friend was walking a little slower than usual, and using his staff more obviously, but every time he looked directly at him, Rith smiled calmly, as if nothing was the matter. Once in the workshop, the disruptor itself seemed to be a little pod, about the size of a small dog, made of the blue and gray structures that Cyborg himself utilized.

Rith stood by as Cyborg crouched down beside the device. "If I got it right, it should generate a disruptive sound-wave. Basically a shock-grenade that maintains its effect."

His friend actually twitched faintly. "…So I see."

Not aware, Cyborg continued, "If you'll just let me know if the field is effective or not, I'd appreciate it."

Rith nodded, but was hiding a very real anxiety this time. Just as Cyborg was about to activate it, he actually started to ask him to stop, but hesitated… and the device turned on.

For anyone else, it was a simple blast of force, to stun and knock away. Cyborg himself had miss-set the radius, and was knocked on his back with an 'oof!'. For Rith, however, it was a wall of pain slamming into him like cement.

Instinctively, his hand snapped up, and a violent distortion formed around him. Cyborg picked himself up quickly, and shut the device off.

"Whoa!" the half-metal Titan exclaimed as he checked the device over. "I didn't set the parameters right." He looked over to Rith with sincere concern. "You okay, man? I know that must've hurt…" Guilt etched across his organic features.

Rith forced another big smile. "No, no, I'm fine, thank you. The device is quite effective, yes. A good stun-blast."

Cyborg grinned, relieved as well as satisfied with his machine. "All I needed to know. Thanks again, my man. You take care now."

Rith waved lightly, and made his way out of the workshop. By the time he was back in his hallway, the poor young man was just about to fall over. Every sound was painful, his head was throbbing already, and his body was strained to the limit. _I can rest soon… This is what I get for trying to drop a huge robot on my own…_

And just then, he realized someone else was rushing in his direction. A bit bewildered at this point, Rith turned around, not hiding his confusion this time, and sensed Beast Boy dashing up to him, and skidding to a halt. The poor green Titan was sweating bullets, and looked about as strung out as Rith felt. "Dude! I need help!"

Only the fact that Beast Boy had a penchant for exaggeration kept Rith from assuming someone was in mortal danger by the extremity of the morphing young man's expression. Rith remained fairly calm, and asked, "What's wrong, Beast Boy?"

Beast Boy yanked his ears down, gnawing furiously on his own lips. "I'm cooked! It's coming up on a huge anniversary of my first date with Terra! I have no ideas, I can't even think straight! I know I need to get her something, but I don't know what, and if I don't she'll hate me forever and ever, and I just don't know what to _doooo_," he drew out in a piteous wail, jets of water gushing from his eyes.

He tried to hide it, but Rith couldn't avoid a little wave of relief relaxing his frame. With a mild smile, he started, "Calm down, Beast Boy. Everything will be fine."

The green Titan blinked at him, but was breathing more slowly, not bawling.

"Has Terra mentioned anniversaries before?"

A little shake of the head replied.

Rith nodded. "Then she'll be pleasantly surprised by anything you do for this one. You could just take her out for a nice meal somewhere, or perhaps buy her a new hair-pin or something you know she'll use rather often. Maybe combine the two, get her a new pair of goggles and give them to her over dinner, for example," he offered at the end with light humor, gesturing at his friend.

Beast Boy blinked again, and then relaxed upright, finally letting go of his own ears. "Hey… you're right, that'd work…"

A light smile remained on Rith's lips. "I'm glad you think so. Anything else?"

Staring off with a growing smile, it took Beast Boy a moment to respond. He jerked, grinned broadly at the blind boy, and answered, "Notta! Thanks a million! Gotta go!" And he shot off, leaving a streak of dust in the hallway.

Rith chuckled, then sighed, holding his head mildly, and finally turned around opening his door. The moment he stepped through, the young man felt as though his room in the tower had never looked so welcoming. The shape of the bed off ahead of him was particularly inviting as the door closed behind him. Rubbing his head gingerly, he put his staff down, and moved over to the bed, planning to simply fall onto it at this point… when the door knocked.

He gave an involuntary jerk, then moaned, his head sinking. The next second, however, he senses reached out, a bit sore, and he realized it was… _Raven,_ he thought with a gentle smile.

Indeed, she was standing outside, just letting her hand down from knocking. The purple-haired young woman gave a faint cringe, realizing Rith was probably asleep. Hoping she hadn't disturbed him, she started to move away, but the sound of the door opening brought her back around.

Rith was there, smiling gently. "Hello."

Raven gave him a sympathetic smile. "So I hear you've had quite a day…"

He would have blinked, his eyebrows rising. "Oh?"

Raven raised her left hand, and a wave of darkness washed around them both. She was softening the sounds of the world outside the bubble around them for Rith. The blind boy actually sank with relief, exhaling. His kind smile warmed up at her. "Thank you…"

With a light half-smile, she explained, "I was trying to find you after my meditation, and bumped into a few of the others. When I realized they had all gotten you to help them with something, I realized you hadn't had a chance to rest yet." A calm sympathy remained in her eyes. She could see how worn down he really was, more weight pulling down around his scarred eyelids than usual.

Even so, he blushed gently, scratching the back of his head. "Didn't… want to be rude…"

Raven smirked at him, amused and newly charmed by his self-deprecating, kind nature. "You really are kind to a fault, Rith. I am sorry for disturbing you, I just wanted to check with you about something."

His eyebrows rose up again, happy to ignore her playful admonishment and compliment. "What is it?"

A little mischief joined her smile. "I just wanted to know if you would like some tea."

He gave a gentle laugh, dipping his head down. Her beautiful voice soothed his aching head, and her powers were like a gentle pillow for his sensitive hearing. _So kind…_ "Actually… that sounds really nice…" he 'admitted' with a wan smile up at her.

Keeping her powers active to let him ease a bit more, Raven took his hand in both of hers to 'pull' him out of his room, and walked along with him toward the kitchen. She had so perfectly rescued him from a very long day. It was going to be a lovely cup of tea…

Finé


End file.
